


Incomplete Aftermath

by needlepit



Category: Saw (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Movie: Saw II (2005), Other, Post-Canon, Trauma, gore descriptions in later chapters..maybe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29681922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/needlepit/pseuds/needlepit
Summary: Daniel Matthews wakes up in the hospital after surviving one of Jigsaw's games. Not only does he need to deal with the lifelong trauma he has been dealt, but now his father is missing too. How should he live his life after such a drastic experience? And what could possibly be behind his father's sudden disappearance?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

Daniel Matthews drowsily opens up his heavy eyelids, the fluorescent lights above him making his eyes hurt. He quickly jolts awake, followed by a loud gasp "AH!" He shouts, startled and anxious. For a moment he thought he was still down in that disgusting bathroom with Amanda. It took him a moment to register that he was actually in a hospital room, sitting in a bed with an IV attached to his arm and a tube in his nose. Everything ached.

Daniel was so out of it he hadn't even realized a nurse had walked over to him "Woah there, mister! Are you feeling alright? You were asleep the entire day.." The nurse spoke in a friendly, calm manner. Daniel breathed out heavily, looking at the nurse with his eyes wide open "W-where am I? What happened? I- where's dad?" He stuttered out, clenching tightly onto his bed sheet. Daniel had a hard time processing what was happening around him. All he remembers is being inside a small, dark box with an oxygen mask on him. He remembers it opening up, but after that everything is a complete blur, like a dream you can barely recall.

"Hey now, everything is okay. You were brought to this hospital yesterday via ambulance because you had been subjected to dangerous nerve gas. As for your father, I can't say for sure" The nurse turned to face Daniel's IV "You went through something horrible, no wonder you passed out.." She said whilst replacing his IV bag. 

‘’Horrible..’’ Daniel repeated under his breath, looking down at his palms. He would clench his fists and open them back up, as if to check that he wasn’t in fact dreaming. He started repeating basic information in his mind. 

‘My name is Daniel Matthews, I am 17 years old, I go to high school down the road and I have mom and a..’ He couldn’t muster up the word ‘dad’ even in his mind. Thinking about what he had gone through made Daniel feel shaky, as if it wasn’t really over yet.

Lost in thought, Daniel eventually snapped out of it when the nurse looked at him and asked ‘’Are you hungry? You have been in the IV since you were all passed out..should I go get you something to eat?’’ Daniel, still having slight trouble with words simply nodded and watched the nurse walk off. 

Daniel let his tensed up shoulders ease once he was alone in the room. Over to his left was a window with a humble view of the cityscaper across the hospital. In front of him was a small television with a clock beside it, showing that it was around 3pm. To his right was a classic hospital curtain, though Daniel had a hunch that nobody was on the other side of it...at least hopefully. 

There was chattering coming from the hallway outside his room. He wondered if it could be the press. Hopefully not. If somebody were to interview him he wouldn’t really know what to say. 

‘I don’t know what to tell you sir, just went through a traumatic experience that changed my life forever. You can quote me on that, shithead’ 

The thought of that reply would normally make Daniel chuckle at the very least, but knowing that’s what actually happened made him feel more grim. The door swung open, the very same nurse coming over to him with a bright smile and a tray of hospital food. It was no gourmet, but anything goes at this point.

‘’Here you go, let me know if you need anything else’’ The nurse said, carefully placing the tray in front of him ‘’Thanks…’’ Daniel glanced at the nametag on the older lady’s work uniform ‘’Sarah..thanks’’ He continued before digging into his food.  
‘’Not a problem, Daniel. I’ll come back a bit later when you’ve finished your food. Once you’ve done that we’ll check in with your medication. If anything happens, you can call a nurse via the red button beside your bed, okay?’’ Daniel would nod in reply.  
‘’Good, I’ll come check up on you later!’’ The nurse, Sarah turned around and left the room as quickly as she came.

Daniel was now completely immersed in his food, god, when was the last time he ate? It must have been before the game. The game..just the mention of it was enough to make his stomach churn. The smell of Obi’s burning body, the rusty scent of blood and mold, the vision of Laura dying in Amanda’s arms..that was all so very real just what, yesterday? It all could have been an absurd dream, but the pain he went through and the fact that he was currently in a hospital bed due to nerve gas poisoning all made evidence to prove him wrong. Daniel felt like there was a piece stuck in the back of his throat, feeling his eyes water up as he ate up his veggies. Daniel wasn’t the type to cry, but this if any was the situation for him to break down. He could feel warm tears overflow from his tired eyes and down his cheeks.

He sniffled, placing his palm over his eyes. Daniel was so glad to be alive.  
To survive such a painstaking trauma, to bear witness to multiple real deaths - even getting to end someone’s life with his own hands. Even so, it felt good to be alive, even when the weight of the game was still on his shoulders. 

Daniel wiped off the remaining tears from his eyes ‘’God, I’m such a pussy..’’ He muttered out to himself. He would hate it if anybody else would see him so vulnerable.  
Around 5 minutes later, the hospital room door swung open again. However this time it wasn’t the familiar nurse, but instead homicidal detective Allison Kerry. 

‘’What are you doing here?’’ Daniel said, placing his utensils down as the sorry looking woman sat down by the seat next to his bed ‘’Hello, Daniel’’ Kerry sighed, crossing her legs.  
‘’I said, what are you doing here?!’’ Daniel raised his voice. His dad’s mistress was the last person he wanted to see today.

‘’Quiet down, I came here to discuss about the events that happened yesterday.’’ Stoic and cool as always. Kerry really was all work and no play.  
‘’Oh really..’’ Daniel was giving her the attitude ‘’Well why not ask my dad to come here instead, huh? His fucking son is in the hospital and he can’t even come and see me? What’s up with that?!’’ He snarled, obviously upset to have the woman that ruined their family be in his presence.

‘’That’s the problem. Eric Matthews, your father, is currently unavailable.’’ Kerry narrowed her brows, her voice much more stern. ‘’What? What do you mean unavailable? What the fuck could be more important than this?’’ Daniel insisted. Kerry would stare back at him with a minute of complete silence. ‘’The thing is, he’s gone missing. Just moments before you were released, your father escaped with the culprit Jigsaw himself. He went on a search to locate the building the game was hosted in, but it appears our team was led in a completely different location from your father. We haven’t heard from him since, but our team is currently in search for where-ever he could have gone to.’’ 

What Kerry told him made Daniel shut up. His hands dropped down to his lap, the anxious churn in his stomach twisting around. What? Missing?  
‘’I know this is hard for you Daniel, but we won’t stop until we find him. Now, if you could please help me piece together what happened yesterday..’’ Kerry pulled out a small notebook and a pen from her pocket.  
‘’Kerry, I don’t know if I can do this right now..’’ Daniel said, shaking his head ‘’Please, I’ve just woken up after a fucking Jigsaw game and now you’re telling me my dad is missing? Please...just..just go’’ His head dropped down, covering his face behind his hands.

‘’....’’ No matter how dedicated Kerry was to her job, even she knew not to bother him any more than she already had. She felt sorry for the kid. First her and Eric’s affair pulled his family apart, then a Jigsaw game and now Eric was missing...it all had to be taking a huge toll on Daniel. ‘’I’m sorry, Daniel. I’ll come back tomorrow, you get some rest.’’ Kerry stood up, the tone in her voice much more sympathetic as she took her leave.

‘’Fuck..’’ Daniel cursed. He had lost his appetite.


	2. Chapter 2

This was the second time Daniel Matthews would wake up in a hospital. A cold, hard reality would once again hit him straight across the face. With a heavy sigh he turned to his left, looking at the window beside him. It was fairly early into the morning, though it didn’t seem like so due the grey, cloudy weather outside. It would surely start to rain later.

Daniel pulled a cover over his head, letting himself be engulfed inside the warmth and safety of the bed. He secretly wished that the next time he pulled the covers off he would be in his own, messy bedroom. If Daniel could pretend that everything was okay, even for a moment...that would be just perfect. Slowly drifting off to sleep, he felt at ease. Just let him sleep a while longer. Please.

\---

He eventually woke up to Sarah bringing him his medication. Daniel sat up in his bed, all groggy as he took the small cup containing two small pills at it’s bottom ‘’What..what are these meds for exactly?’’ He asked, curious to know what he would be fed up with.  
‘’Those are anticonvulsants. You’ll have to take those for a short while, just to be sure’’  
Sarah changed his IV once again ‘’Huh…’’ Daniel looked down at the pills once more ‘’Bottoms up, I guess’’ He shrugged and gulped down his meds. The pills felt so dry in his throat, having to gulp down a large amount of water to make it all go down. Leaning back against his assortment of pillows, he let the medicine do its job.

‘’You’ll have a doctor’s check-up later, he’ll do an evaluation on you to see when you’ll be returning back home. If I had to guess, it won’t be long considering how well you’ve been doing’’ The nurse flashed Daniel a smile ‘’Don’t you worry, you’ll get to go home soon’’ 

‘That’s a relief’ Daniel thought to himself, crossing his arms and closing his eyes ‘’Good, good..’’ He replied, still sort of tired from a night mostly consisting of light sleep and dreams, no, nightmares about the game. Nightmares about swimming in a sea of needles, much like Amanda..

Amanda! Did she make it out? The last time Daniel remembers seeing her was in the bathroom with the awful, blue tinted lights. Xavier taking the blade and carelessly slicing the back of his neck just for his own good..trying to jump on Amanda..  
Oh, right. That’s when Daniel..  
When Daniel..

There was a hefty knock at the door, loud enough to startle Daniel. The guest didn’t even bother to wait for an answer, simply walking in. It was detective Kerry again. Daniel’s gaze followed the detective as she made her way to the seat beside his bed ‘’Good morning Daniel. Did you sleep well?’’ She asked, digging out a small notebook with a cover made of leather.

‘’Like hell. I’ve seen better days’’ The dreams about the needles made Daniel’s arms feel itchy. ‘’That’s a shame..thankfully you’ll probably get to go home soon. But that’s enough chit chat for now, we have to get to business’’ There was a click of a pen, then some scribbling against paper. 

‘’Would you mind telling me what you remember prior to the game? What’s the last thing you can remember before waking up in the room with others?’’ Kerry asked, not even bothering to look at the person she was interrogating.  
‘’I..I can faintly remember going to the store with my mom. I waited outside because mom was scared of me getting into trouble because of shoplifting..again. I heard some rattling coming from behind the store. I thought it might’ve been some animal so I went to take a peek and then - it all just kind of cuts there’’ Daniel tries to jog his memory, still hearing the rattling in his ears and what felt like a syringe in his neck. It was weird to suddenly just not remember something. 

‘’Uhuh, so you were kidnapped by a store..which store, exactly?’’ Kerry’s eyes were practically glued to the notebook, her pen tracing across the paper with swift movements.  
‘’7 Eleven..the one near the hardware store?’’ Daniel didn’t know why he felt so nervous. What if she asked him about Xavier? Should he be honest? 

‘’Okay, so you were kidnapped quite far from the assumed location and John Kramer’s base. Do you remember anything about the person who attacked you?’’ Kerry continued.  
‘’No, not really. I think they either ambushed me from behind or pulled me into the dark where I couldn’t see them. However during..the game, Obi said he partook in the kidnapping of everybody involved’’ Shaky hands, chipped knuckles. Eyes tired from staying awake.

‘’Obi? The one who entered the furnace?’’ Kerry raised her head ‘’Yeah, that guy..’’  
‘’Interesting..what else? What could you gather from the game, Daniel? Did the other players tell you some things about themselves or Jigsaw?’’ Leaning back in her chair, Kerry was prepared to write down whatever Daniel would say next.

‘’Mm..the first guy whose name I didn’t even know died from a booby trap that was fixed to the door..Then Obi died in the furnace, then Amanda was thrown into the pit of needles’’ A cold shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the pained screams and how he had to help Amanda out from the trap ‘’Then uh...then the girl, Laura, I think. Yeah, Laura suffered a seizure..I’m not sure what happened to the other lady, but I don’t think she made it’’ A moment of silence to recollect his thoughts.

‘’Then me and Amanda ran back to the starting room because Xavier, the buff guy was after us. That’s when we found Jonas with a bat stuck to his..his scalp’’ Daniel shook his head, the scene still rather fresh in his memory. ‘’We found a hatch that led underground. We went to a bathroom. There were two dead guys there too, like, corpses. They were rotting, had been for a good while’’

‘’Corpses? Bathroom?’’ Kerry thought out loud, thinking back to the Jigsaw case with Doctor Lawrence Gordon several months back. ‘’Was there a severed foot in the bathroom?’’ Kerry presented a follow-up question. ‘’Yes..yeah, I think there was now that I think about it’’ Daniel nodded.

‘’Interesting..’’ Kerry wrote down some more, seemingly circling around some words.  
‘’Anyway, uh, me and Amanda were there and Xavier came down. He cut off a..piece from the back of his neck. Then he was killed by..killed by Amanda. Yeah. He tried to attack us’’ What an awful lie. Daniel felt so ashamed to push the blame of Xavier’s death on Amanda. He wondered if detective Kerry could see right through his act. 

‘’And then? Do you remember how you ended up in that safe you were found in?’’ Kerry dismissed it, simply wanting to move on with the story. ‘’Not really..Everything just kinda cuts to black shortly after that’’ He replies. ‘’That reminds me..did Amanda make it? Where is she?’’

Kerry closed her notebook ‘’Amanda Young hasn’t been found. We assume she is alive, but she is also a suspect of being an accomplice to the Jigsaw killer, John Kramer himself’’  
‘’Wh- what?’’ Daniel stuttered, which was very out of character for him. It seemed like he was being hit with bad news one after another. Man, life really sucked for Daniel Matthews.

He was speechless, simply staring at Kerry with his mouth slightly agape.  
‘’We’re assuming your father might be where-ever Amanda Young and John Kramer are. We’re also trying to locate the original place the game was held in’’ There was a small sigh. Kerry adjusted her posture, looking at Daniel ‘’If you have something, anything that could be of use regarding this case please let me know’’

Daniel’s head was going a hundred miles an hour. All this information was making his head feel fuzzy, blurry, like tv static that’s too loud. It all felt extremely overwhelming.  
Before the young man could muster up a coherent answer the door swung open yet again.

The two turned to look over at the tall, tired looking lady. Her dark brown hair was falling over her shoulders, suiting what seemed to be office gear. She started approaching the bed, but stopped once she noticed detective Kerry.  
‘’What the hell are you doing here?’’ The lady snarled, very much displeased to see Kerry after all this time.

‘’Mom?’’ Daniel choked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hospital drama will ensue for one more chapter, maybe two..but then things will probably get more interesting! I'm still learning how to write multiple chapter texts as I go, so thank you for sticking around and giving my text a read!


	3. Chapter 3

‘’I said, what the hell are you doing here?’’ The lady was Daniel’s mother. She was obviously infuriated to see her husband’s mistress here in the hospital with her own son. Could this get any worse?

‘’I’m simply doing my job, Ms Matthews. Daniel is a survivor of a Jigsaw game and it is my duty as a detective to pose questions about the case’’ Kerry replied in a more stoic manner. Cool, calm and collected as always.  
‘’Well why couldn’t they let literally anybody else do that? Why did it have to you?!’’ Daniel’s mother raised her voice much more significantly. Daniel would simply stare at the scene, feeling uncomfortable with how aggravated his mom was being. This was nothing new.

‘’Because I am the most valuable detective in my team regarding the Jigsaw cases. And because your ex-husband is currently missing, I also have to take care of his assignments’’ Kerry stood up, picking up a small handbag she had brought with her. The leather covered notebook was placed inside the bag for safekeeping. 

‘’...’’ The mother was standing still with her fists clenched, resisting the want to simply punt Kerry in her face. The urge to kick in this woman’s teeth was real. Was this woman mocking her?

‘’Mom, please..it’s alright. It’s okay’’ Daniel butted in, trying to calm down the situation before it could get any more unnerving for everyone involved. His mother turned her head sharply to look at him. Silence. Her shoulders eventually slumped down, realizing that she shouldn’t act like this in front of Daniel. ‘’You know what Kerry? Just..whatever. Please just leave’’ A sigh of defeat. 

Kerry replied with a respectful nod. As much as Kerry hated the woman, this wasn’t a fight worth engaging in, especially during work hours. Kerry simply strutted toward the door, turning to look over at Daniel ‘’Contact me if you remember anything that could help us solve this case’’ And with that, she was out the door. Detective Kerry would surely need a cold beer after her shift, that was for sure. 

‘’..Daniel, sweetie, I’m so sorry’’ His mom broke the silence. She was admittedly feeling a little ashamed of getting so fired up. The slightest sense of guilt twisting around inside her gut.   
‘’Yeah, just..don’t do that shit again, don’t get me involved with your and dad’s relationship drama’’ Daniel laid back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling ‘’If you came here just to scold at me you should just go. Why didn’t you come see me earlier?’’ He felt offended to not have seen his own mother in a good while. The only people bothering to come and see him were the nurses, the old doctor and detective Allison Kerry. 

‘’Daniel, I..I did come and see you when you were first brought here. You were unconscious and I was turned away because they needed to take care of you. I’m sorry’’ The apology was sincere enough, his mom taking a seat beside his bed.

‘’Mmh..at least you’re here now. Do you know when they’ll let me go home?’’ Daniel brought up the question. It was time to change the subject. The air in the room was close to heavy, the intensity of the past moment still lingering around. ‘’I can’t say for sure, but I doubt you’ll have to stay here for long. I’ll make you your favourite food once you come back home, okay? We can watch a film, I can take you out to town...does that sound good to you?’’ It appeared his mom was almost desperately trying to make amends with Daniel. Undoubtedly it was working on him. The thought of a warm meal sounded very appetizing compared to the canteen food they served at the hospital. 

‘’Yeah, that sounds good..’’ Daniel nodded as he sat back up. His hair was all scruffy, tangled and dirty. He scratched at the back of his neck. ‘’I can’t wait to go back home’’ The young man admitted, shaking his head. ‘’Mom, can you go get me something to drink?’’ Daniel would plead, feeling like he needed to sort out his thoughts for a moment before he could open up to his mom about what he had gone through in that rundown building. Mental preparation for the bombardment of upcoming questions, you could say.

‘’Of course, anything specific?’’ She stood up, taking out her wallet. ‘’Oh, just coffee is fine..’’ Daniel replied and watched his mom exit the room. As soon as the door closed he turned his gaze over to the small nightstand beside his bed. On top of it laid a small contact card with a neat font spelling out the words ‘homicide detective Allison Kerry’ and a phone number under it. When did she even have the chance to put this here?

‘Contact me’ she said. Daniel took the card, inspecting it as if there was something more to it. There wasn’t, but it felt fancy. He decided it would be for the best to hold onto this. Daniel felt like there might be something more to his game than he initially assumed.


	4. Chapter 4

Rain was hitting against the car, the windshield wipers bouncing from left to right in a quick, hasty pace. The car was stuck in traffic, inching ever so slowly toward its destination. Daniel was wearing one of his older band shirts and a dark hoodie that was just a little too big on him. He was looking down, inspecting the details on his worn jeans and pale hands out of sheer boredom. He was sort of bummed out that the hospital staff had gotten rid of his old clothes. Apparently it was dangerous to own anything that got subjected to nerve gas. Man, why did he have to wear one of his favorite shirts that day?

Daniel's mother was tapping her nails impatiently against the steering wheel "Come ooonn.." She muttered under her breath, the complaint directed at each and every one of the five other drivers that were ahead of them. He couldn’t wait to get home, to finally sleep in his own bed. Maybe that would help with the nightmares, just maybe. Hopefully. 

He was called off from school. He wouldn’t need to go back out into the system for a while, they didn’t want to stress Daniel or whatever, considering how grave his experience was. Daniel sort of wanted to go back to school though, to get his mind off the game. On the other hand maybe it was for the better if he laid low for now. I guess the fear of getting the news on his ass was a tad too overbearing. To be honest everything was overwhelming these days. Mom was stressing him out, hospitals and needles were stressing him out, detectives, police, missing dad and bad dreams were all weighing him down. Daniel just wanted to have some alone time in his room. To process things without the ivory colored walls of the hospital and tubes attached to his body.

Daniel snapped out of it when he realized that the car had rolled inside a familiar garage. He was finally back. He swung the door open, following his mom suit into the house he had missed for so long ‘’Welcome home!’’ His mother smiled as she walked over to the large kitchen. ‘’Glad to be back..’’ Daniel’s eyes would trace across the living room and the kitchen. A familiar home felt so new to him. He turned to face the dark oak stairs, walking up to the second floor and toward the end of the hall. A simple walk to his room felt so dreadfully long, as if Daniel was walking in slow motion, treading through a dream. 

You'd be surprised to know how alienated a traumatic experience at the hands of a serial killer and a week at the hospital makes you feel. A room which he had lived in for the past 17 years of his life felt so new, like he hadn't been in there for decades. Everything was left just like he had remembered. A growing pile of clothing stacked on the black armchair by the corner, a mildly dusty vinyl player and disks spread about the carpeted floor. As weird as everything felt, it was good to be back. I mean it was the only place he did call home. The room at his...dad's wasn't really the most comfortable.

Daniel sat down by the edge of his bed, really taking in the familiar, yet new environment. That all of this was his and not some set-up for a movie or an exhibition. His eyes would trace along the walls from one end to another. Movie posters, bands, pictures, stickers...his moving gaze stopped by the closet, it's door slightly cracked open.

"...." There was an uneasy feeling crawling up his spine, like a bug that's not really there. He stood up, shutting down the door without even bothering to look inside. The anticipation of a new kidnapper lurking inside wasn't exactly what Daniel was looking for right now. For the sake of his mental health Daniel took a hold of the hefty armchair beside the closet, pushing it against the door. It felt a little silly, yes, but paranoia was to be expected at this point.

‘’Daniel!’’ His mother called out from downstairs. He didn’t have time to let his paranoia pester him, food was calling.

\--

Daniel pulled a blanket over his head, letting himself sink into the comforting darkness underneath the bed sheets. He would clutch onto himself, finding the small space very relaxing as he drifted off to sleep. A peaceful slumber would eventually twist into another nightmare scenario. That comforting darkness under the sheets had turned into the walls of a box. A box which he had been crammed into. Cold and made of steel. The only light came from the edges of the door which he couldn’t open from the inside. Even if he tried to scream for help he couldn’t. Daniel’s body ached, it was hard to breathe despite having an oxygen mask strapped onto his face. It was exhausting, futile to fight. He could hear people talk and argue, but he was so out of it he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

A shrunken cage in an unknown place and in an unknown time. To be trapped within those four walls with no way of escaping made Daniel feel so alone. He could be left there, or maybe he would be buried with the box, or maybe someone would throw it into water where he would sleep with the fishes. 

Daniel placed his palm weakly against the door, only to find out that it opened up so very easily. Delighted, he crawled out into the light - only to fall into a pit of needles. Dirty, used and sharp. He would yell out for help, the needles pinching and sinking into his limbs as he tried to reach the end of the pit which only seemed to move further and further away. 

While crawling he would stumble upon a familiar figure, that which was dressed in blue and had bandages wrapped around her wrists. Amanda! Daniel would cry out, crawling toward the young lady who seemed to just stand there in the midst of all those needles. Barely moving, not even flinching. 

Daniel remembers reaching his hand toward Amanda’s ankle, only for her to kick him in the face and push his face down against the needles. He feels them sinking. Something warm gushes from his face, but he’s too scared to open his eyes. He can feel the needles pushing through his eyelids.

\--

Daniel jolts awake violently, sitting upright whilst gasping for breath. He feels around his face and body. No markings, no bruises, no cuts, no..nothing. He’s fine. Everything is fine, as it should be. ‘’Amanda..’’ he mutters as he lies back down. This isn’t really fine.


	5. Chapter 5

The house was quiet, almost uncomfortably quiet. Daniel made his way downstairs in his nightwear despite it being already 11am. There was a yellow post-it note fixed to the fridge door using a Grand Canyon magnet his mom had gotten way back, when they were still a regular middle-class family. When Daniel didn’t have to think about serial killers and whatnot.

'I'll be back around 7pm, make sure to eat up those leftovers if you get hungry! Call me if you need anything -Mom'

It appeared Daniel would get the entire house to himself for the day. And probably for the rest of the week too. His mom was a busy accountant, so being home alone was nothing new. Frankly it was quite relaxing for most of the time. Though being alone also gained some new perspective after being kidnapped. Daniel was having...mixed feelings, to say the least.

He yawned, starting up the coffee machine before beginning to rummage through the fridge for milk. All these nightmares were leaving him more and more drowsy and groggy each morning, as if he had barely slept. "I should try doing something productive today" He talked out loud to drown out the otherwise uncomfortable silence inside the two-storey home.

Cereal. God how he had missed cereal "Give me that sugary shit" Daniel grinned to himself as he poured himself a grand dose of Cocoa Puffs. This would cheer him up at the very least! He took a hold of the bowl, leaning his back against the counter, eating up his sweet cereal as he waited for coffee. He wondered what he should do today. Something productive….but what could that be? Mom had done most of the chores and he didn't have school for about a week or two. He thought about things feverishly, flinching as the coffee machine beeped to signal that his drink was ready.

"Shit man, you shut up!" Daniel placed down his half-empty bowl and scolded the coffee machine. The thought about his nightmare from last night popped up back into his thoughts as he fixed himself a cup.

"..." He thought about Amanda again. Why was she so willing to help him if she was in kahoots with Jigsaw all this time? Was it because Daniel was still young? Probably. But on the other hand almost everyone got on his ass after finding out that his dad was the noteworthy Eric Matthews himself- oh. Oh, right. Dad was missing. How could he forget such a trivial thing? 

And who the fuck even was Amanda? Why was she working with that maniac and what did his dad have to do with all of this? Sure, Eric was a real hardass, but not even Daniel knew to what extent. He had no idea about his dad's police brutality. If Daniel was aware though he probably would feel better if Eric stayed where-ever the fuck he was.

Could Amanda be keeping his dad hostage? Daniel stopped to think about the possibility. He finished up his cereal, placing the bowl into the sink before returning back to his lair upstairs, coffee mug in hand. He sat down in front of his old desktop computer.

"I suppose I could do a bit of detective work, eh?" He muttered to himself. Playing Sherlock actually made him sort of excited, I mean it would be better than just wallowing in his own self-pity and paranoia. The soft sound of keyboard keys clacking. A quiet whirr coming from the computer. Daniel's fingers came to type the words "Jigsaw" into the hotbar. 

Tons of news articles and images. All about Jigsaw and supposedly the man behind it, an elderly cancer patient named John Kramer. Interesting, but not necessarily what he was looking for. He skimmed through dozens of news titles and message boards looking for something noteworthy. And then he found it.

"Jigsaw survivor, Amanda Young comes forward"

"Amanda!" He yelled out, finally he struck gold! Skimming through the fairly short article, Daniel came to know more about Amanda. He remembers her mentioning that she had played before, but to go through such a cruel task.. The image attached of the Reverse Bear Trap looked horrific. The thought of getting that thing stuck to your jaws made Daniel feel a sense of unease.

"..." Daniel started digging through his table drawers, pulling out a crappy notebook with bent edges and coffee stains on the cover "This'll do.." He flipped to a blank page and started writing down.

'Amanda Young

-One of the first Jigsaw survivors  
-Survived a trap dubbed as the Reverse Bear Trap  
-Reason for being tested: drugs?   
-How did she end up working with Jigsaw?  
-Why was I tested??’

Tapping the pen against the paper, Daniel thought that this was all very confusing.  
He started searching for more, typing out ‘Amanda Young’ along with some other variations.  
He eventually stumbled upon a news clip of a female reporter standing outside to ambush Amanda with questions. The harassing reporter ended up getting a firm punch in the face from Amanda who simply walked off without answering. Daniel leaned back in his chair ‘’You sure are enigmatic..’’ He chewed onto the tip of his pen. Swift turn of a swivel chair, the sound of footsteps and rustling. It should be here somewhere. Daniel found what he looked for, pulling up the contact card that detective Kerry had left him back at the hospital ‘’There it is!’’ He sat back down and wrote the number down. He should definitely contact Kerry and ask more about his dad and Amanda. He had several questions, but very little answers.

Daniel thought about calling Kerry, going to see her at the station or whatever. Yeah, that sounded like a plan. He couldn’t let mom know though, she probably wouldn’t be too pleased with him going to see Kerry again. Sigh.   
Without much of a thought Daniel chugged onto his coffee, only to realize that it had grown cold.


	6. Chapter 6

Daniel was sitting at the very back of the bus, slumped over with his temple pressed against the stained window. He was patiently waiting for the bus to reach the stop closest to the police station. It would definitely take a while. Daniel sighed, fixing his earbuds, deciding to listen to some tunes to ease his nerves before going to meet Kerry. Man, why was he feeling so nervous? He felt like he was going to the dentist’s appointment.

Tapping his foot, Daniel wondered what he should listen to. What will it be today? Muse? Nirvana? Wrath of Gods? Now that you mention it..Wrath of Gods sounded like a perfect band to listen to right now. Their first album started rolling, Daniel fixing his volume to be just a little too loud, you know, as one angsty teen does.

The other people occupying the bus were mostly elderly women and men, making Daniel stand out as the ‘troubled teen’. He was indeed feeling troubled, but not in a way that the passengers of this daily commute could ever guess. Two ladies sat three seats away from him, appearing as though they were gossiping. The curiosity got the best of him, lowering down the volume of his music to eavesdrop.

‘’Did you hear? The police caught Jigsaw, they got the FBI involved and everything’’ A dark haired lady spoke up to the other.  
‘’I did! It’s all over the news..didn’t the culprit get away though? With a detective?’’ The blonde woman beside her chimed in.  
‘’True, true..I read about it on the paper. The detective’s son was a lone survivor from the incident. Poor boy..to go through such an awful experience..’’ the other replied.

There’s just something about complete strangers talking about you, perceiving you as if they had always been present in your life. Seeing other people casually talk about him and his dad like it was nothing made Daniel feel anxious. He turned up his volume much higher than minutes before, anything to get his mind off the chatter.

\--

‘’...’’ Daniel felt so burnt out. The day had just started and he was already exhausted. Great. Daniel walked by a small kiosk, quickly stopping to a halt once he had a glimpse of the news article plastered against the kiosk wall. A jigsaw article, of course. But what really bothered him was the small print of his own face amongst the text.

‘Daniel Matthews (17) was found to be the sole survivor of Jigsaw’s latest nerve gas house trap’ 

The small text under his image was typed with a bold font. Who the fuck allowed them to use his image? And when did they even get this? The image of him was horrible. He was lying in ambulance stretchers, completely blacked out with a different oxygen mask on his face. Daniel couldn’t help but stare at the picture with his mouth slightly agape. The audacity!   
There he was, the circles around his eyes an unhealthy shade of purple, his skin pale, lying in critical condition. The longer he stared at the image the more anxious it made him feel. This was the Daniel Matthews that the world would know. A wretch, a victim. Not just an ordinary high school student like everybody else his age. Why did he out of all people have to stand out like this?

‘’You going to buy the paper, boy?’’ The elderly man standing behind the kiosk booth broke the silence. He was staring at Daniel through his thick glasses. Daniel snapped out of his trance, stuttering out ‘’Ah, n-no. Sorry.’’ He quickly walked off, pulling a hood over his head. Please, please don’t let anyone recognize him. He didn’t want to be recognized as ‘The Jigsaw survivor Daniel Matthews’. 

\--

Cops and detectives of all shapes and sizes were walking back and forth around the awfully busy office, causing a lot of chatter as Daniel helplessly tried to make his way to Detective Kerry's room. He was a lost kid and it was extremely obvious.

An older man with a strong, sturdy build seemed to notice him from the other side of the room. Daniel couldn't help but feel intimidated as the tall figure walked over to him "Hey kid. Are you lost? You aren't supposed to be here" His voice was low and slightly raspy in nature. The man’s eyes were looking at Daniel as if he was intending to scold him.

"Hold on a second...your last name doesn't happen to be Matthews, does it? You’re Daniel, am I right?" The man realized who he was speaking to, easing up his stern demeanor just the tiniest bit. "Um, yeah...yeah, i'm Daniel. I came to see Kerry? I agreed to a meeting with her'' Daniel looked up at the man and then down at the ID card that was hanging around his neck "Can you show me the way to her office um...Lieutenant Hoffman?" Daniel cracked a small smile at the end of his sentence, trying to appear polite in order to hide how much of a nervewreck he was today.

"Sure thing. Follow me" Hoffman replied, the tone in his voice ever so cold as he turned around and started walking toward the office Daniel had been searching for. He could feel all the eyes on him. Whether those looks were coming out of pity for him or not was unsure. Either way it made Daniel feel uncomfortable.

A soft knock and the swing of a door. Homicide Detective Allison Kerry raised her gaze up from the computer seen to check who was coming to bother her this time. "Kerry, this kid wanted to come and see you" Hoffman spoke out, Daniel being awkwardly casted in his shadow.   
"Ah, I was waiting for you Daniel. I'm glad you could make it, take a seat" Kerry smiled, gesturing Daniel to sit down. The young man did as he was told, sitting down with his shoulders slightly tensed up.  
"Can I get you something? Coffee?" Kerry asked out of politeness. "No thanks, I'm good.." Daniel replied. His eyes turned to look down at his hands once again. It had turned into a habit at this point. Did you know that fingernails stop growing after death? They only appear longer because your skin starts to redact.

"Well then..what would you like to discuss? Did you remember something about your time at that nerve gas house?" Kerry moved on with the conversation, shooing with her hand to signal Hoffman to leave the room. Hoffman would simply reply with a quiet sigh before closing the door. He could barely be bothered.

"Well, that too but I mainly wanted to ask about Amanda." Daniel looked at Kerry. "I've been..I've been trying to find info on her, to figure her out. It just doesn't make any sense to me why she would work with fucking..Jigsaw out of all people! Not to mention that I still don't get why I was being tested!"

‘’I get that you’re very confused Daniel. All of us are just as lost.’’ Kerry replied with an empathetic frown spread on her face. ‘’I’m afraid I’m not allowed to share confidential information regarding Amanda Young, at least that which is not already public information.’’ 

‘’Can you at least tell me if you’ve found any leads on her or my dad?’’ Daniel seemed to get a little frustrated. ‘’I’m afraid we haven’t really made any progress regarding the case of your father’s disappearance..however we are keeping an eye out in case we might catch them on security camera footage or get any eye witness testimonies. The same goes for you. If you see, hear, even suspect that you might have come in contact with anyone related to the nerve gas house incident I suggest you contact me.’’ Kerry’s replies were always so professional. She must be real fun at parties. 

Daniel simply nodded without bothering to give out an audible answer. ‘’If you don’t mind me asking, why are you so interested about Amanda Young?’’ Kerry leaned back in her chair.  
‘’I mean..uh, hold on’’ Daniel tried to think of a coherent answer, placing his palm against his forehead as he thought about putting it into words ‘’I guess it’s because she..sorta saved me? I mean I didn’t know Amanda was in on it, I didn't know shit. She was just very helpful during the trap, not to mention that she was probably the one to give me the antidote and put me in that...box.’’ Daniel’s thoughts raced around as he remembered how it felt to be inside that steel safe. If he thought about it really hard he could feel the numbness in his body from sitting in there for what was estimated to be several hours. 

Kerry would type out the things he was telling. It almost felt like he was at the school infirmary. After a minute of awkward silence and fast typing, Kerry turned to look over him once again ‘’Daniel, listen to me. You might have fond memories or Amanda from the game, she might have built a trust with you, but I want you to remember that it was all on purpose. Amanda Young is not to be trusted. She is our common enemy, not to mention that she is also the captor of your father. I suggest you leave Amanda to us’’ Kerry ended her statement. Daniel thought about it. He acknowledged that Amanda couldn’t be trusted and that he should focus on something else. Leave the dirty work to the detectives and the FBI. Even so he still wanted to at least try and attribute, to amount to something. It was his way of avoiding fighting with the trauma. 

‘’Okay..’’ Daniel replied ‘’I get it.’’ He really didn’t. The adult world still felt ever so confusing to him. He wished to go back home.

**Author's Note:**

> This will be my first longer writing project! I hope you guys stick around to see what I can come up with :]  
> This fic was inspired after another viewing of Saw 2 when I realized that Daniel isn't really talked about in the later films, so his aftermath is kind of up for grabs...which I saw as the perfect opportunity to write out what (probably) happened with him after the events of Saw 2!


End file.
